Lanjarón: Aleros

After spending an inordinate amount of time this morning struggling with the Alsa bus app, we finally broke free and used our last afternoon in Lanjaron to compare the drawings made by the architect Donald Gray with the current look of the town. To our surprise, we realized that we had completely overlooked the craftsmanship of the aleros (eaves) on one of the traditional houses we photographed earlier this week. They are gorgeous, and the only ones like them that we saw still remaining.

One of Gray’s goals was to preserve the vernacular craftsmanship that he so admired. In 1986 he started the Lebrija Crafts School where master craftsman could pass down the dying arts of the area. He also added careful measurements to the sketches he made so that future builders would know the exact dimensions previously used. These sketches were published in a series of four illustrated books on the architectural traditions of the various areas of La Alpujarra, “seeking to bring such traditions closer to the people who inhabit and build there, so that they may know and respect them also.”

Our other big find of the day was the Convento de las Hijas de la Caridad which has been dedicated to education for over a century. As teachers ourselves, we would have loved to see the boarding school for girls they established in 1900, but the gates were firmly closed. In fact, we were only positive about the location due to the very tall pine tree we knew was on the grounds. We could see it over the wall!

We have thoroughly enjoyed our nine days here and have learned a lot, thanks to Marta, the ADR fichas, and Donald Grey. Tomorrow we are off to the village of Béznar.Read more